Addressing Root Causes of ADHD & Anxiety with Ellen Tadd’s Framework for Wise EducationTM
By Maureen Burford, MEd
Ellen Tadd’s Framework for Wise Education™ is based on her clairvoyant observation of our human energy system, or chakra system, and her many years of counseling work with individuals of all ages. Creative Lives, a Vermont-based nonprofit, utilizes Tadd’s Framework to help educators, parents, and young people gain self-awareness and implement techniques that address root causes of stress, anxiety and ADHD, and other impediments to learning. Callie’s story below is one example of how this Framework can help children thrive.
Fourth-grader Callie has received medication treatment for ADHD since kindergarten. This tactic has not worked well. Callie’s physician has decided to take her off her medications in order to re-evaluate her treatment plan. Shortly thereafter, during a homework period at Creative Lives Afterschool Program, Callie melts down. “I hate math, I hate homework, I hate you!” she sobs. Her teacher, Ms. B, interrupts her. “Callie, I have an idea! Help me fetch the balance beam.”
As they drag the beam over, Ms. B. explains: “Callie, you know how you feel focused and enjoy learning when you are working in circus class? That’s how you can feel when you do your math. I want you to walk back and forth on the beam until you get in the focus zone. Then bring that focus back to your homework! If you begin to get frustrated again, get back up on the balance beam.”
Callie follows this routine daily for the next three weeks, alternating between walking on the balance beam to gain focus and calm and applying that same focus to her homework. No further interventions are necessary. In the fourth week, Callie is peacefully doing her homework, but the beam is nowhere in sight. “Callie, do you want me to get the balance beam for you?” asks Ms. B. “Oh, no!” Callie replies. “I don’t need it anymore. Now, I just imagine I’m doing it!”
What precisely happened here? How did Callie make such gains in her ability to focus and see her homework through to completion — on her own and without further struggle? Callie’s teacher, Creative Lives Executive Director Maureen Burford and staff have trained in author Ellen Tadd’s Framework for Wise Education™. This practical, holistic approach reveals how the chakra system functions and influences the process of learning and development.
In her afterschool enrichment classes, Callie learned several Framework techniques to activate her third-eye chakra, the chakra of focus and concentration. Through daily practice, Callie was able to transfer focus techniques from a subject that was easier for her (circus arts) to one of challenge for her (math homework). Through the process of repetition her base chakra, the center of discipline and hard work, strengthened. Together, newfound focus skills and discipline, qualities linked to two chakras in the chakra system, empowered Callie to address significant causes of her ADHD — without medication.
Creative Lives and the Marion Institute are providing more opportunities for educators and others to discover Tadd’s Framework for Wise Education. Join Maureen Burford for one of several upcoming opportunities, listed below:
BioBites: Addressing Root Causes of ADHD and Anxiety June 1, 2021 from 12pm-1pm ET (Zoom)
Creative Lives’ Training Program 2021-2022: Learn more about this year-long program for educators or register for our upcoming Zoom info sessions about this program (May 25 & June 10): CreativeLives.org/South-Coast
Resources: The Wisdom of the Chakras: Tools for Navigating the Complexity of Life by Ellen Tadd, Lantern Books. Website: www.ellentadd.com
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